Rudd flying on way to Martinsville

Ricky Rudd ended a 46-race winless streak last Sunday at Dover, Del. He brings that momentum to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, where he has won twice and sat on the pole four times.

A second victory in a row, in the Goody's 500 Sunday, isn't such a far-fetched notion.

"It's a good possibility," said Rudd, 35, of Chesapeake, Va. "Martinsville, I consider definitely one of the better tracks for me." The Chevrolet driver and his Winston Cup competitors take to the .526-mile oval at 3 p.m. today to secure the first 20 of 30 starting spots in Sunday's 500-lap, 263-mile race. Ford driver Mark Martin set the track record with a 93.171-mile per hour effort in winning the pole for this race a year ago. Martin won the Hanes 500 April 26, his first Martinsville victory. Rudd has one pole this year, at Sonoma, Calif., and has started on the outside front row five times. His Hendrick Motorsports team has been competitive enough that Rudd says he's surprised it took 23 of the year's 29 events before he won. "We had some races earlier this year that we found it hard to believe we hadn't won," he said. "I've always had a theory that if you kept a car in the top five consistently, you'd win some races eventually. This year, I got to where I was questioning that theory." The number of quality cars makes it harder for any philosophy or theory to be proven accurate, Rudd said. "If you have a slight off day, chances are harder than they used to be that you'll win because the depth of competition is so keen." Rudd won this event in 1983 in a Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, and took a victory in the spring 500-lapper in 1986 in a Ford owned by Spartanburg's Bud Moore. "Qualifying is really important at Martinsville," Rudd said, noting that the slower cars are relegated to pit stalls on the backstretch side of the infield. "The race winner will almost have to come from the frontstretch pits." Even though time trials have been a strength of Rudd's team this year, today's qualifying effort will get a lot of emphasis, Rudd said. "Qualifying is so tight," he said. "You can have a little bit of an off day and find yourself on the backstretch." Starting spots 21-30 will be filled in a second round of qualifying Saturday at 12:30 p.m. RICKYR.UDD